"Those political forces have branches in Tiraspol where money is laundered and various forces attempt to influence voters, offering enormous amounts of money in exchange for destabilising actions."
Tiraspol is the capital of the breakaway Dnestr region, a Russian-speaking sliver of territory in Europe's poorest country which has declared independence from Romanian-speaking Moldova and is backed by Moscow, which keeps troops there.
Tarlev was speaking in Brussels after signing an agreement aimed at bringing Moldova closer to the EU, which he said it wanted to join eventually - to the dismay of Moscow, worried by its loss of influence in countries like Georgia and Ukraine.
Relations between Moscow and Chisinau are at a low point since Moldova detained and expelled a number of Russians recently for trying to act as poll observers with improper documents and large sums of cash.
In response, Russia's State Duma, the lower chamber of parliament, passed a resolution on Friday calling on the government to impose sanctions on Moldova, but not on Dnestr.
"The leaders of the separatists there (in Dnestr), who are guided by Moscow, obviously have interests in destabilising the situation, particularly on the eve of parliamentary elections," Moldovan Foreign Minister Andrei Stratan told reporters.
He added that the Duma's sanctions resolution "should be worrying ... also for the international community, as it is a direct intervention in the affairs of the Republic of Moldova".
Tarlev, after signing an EU Action Plan designed to strengthen political and economic links with the bloc, said 72 percent of voters favoured closer European integration.
"The Action Plan gives us a clear opportunity to integrate with Europe. Moldova is a European country and it wishes to become a fully fledged member of this community," he said.